This archive report was first published on 2 September 2019.
On September 2, 2019, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) issued a warning to the public against investing in a capital raising venture by a firm targeting women investors.
The Nairobi-based firm, operating under the names WIE Limited or Women Investing in Entrepreneurship (WIIE), was found to be raising money from the public through a public offer of shares targeting women as their customers.
According to CMA chief executive Paul Muthaura, the firm's business model seemed to have been endorsed by various women celebrities in the country in an attempt to lure more women investors.
The CMA, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, has frozen the company's bank account pending further inquiries, noting that the nature and features of the capital raising by WIE is taking the form of a regulated activity, which has not been approved by the regulator.
The firm was offering 65,000 shares to investors clustered into 10 lots of 6,500 shares each, with variable share prices and a promise of a 25 percent return, reminiscent of a multilevel marketing or pyramid scheme.
